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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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The Nativity of our Savior Jesus Christ dawns upon us each
year to remind us of God's infinite mercy and love for His entire Creation, and
to call us to reflect again on the sublime Mystery of the Divine Incarnation,
without which our salvation would not be possible.
Christmas should constitute, for all of us, an occasion of
spiritual renewal, a moment of meditation on our life, acts, behavior, and on
our commitment to live in Christ.
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Protocol 01/07
January 1, 2007
Feast of Saint Basil and the New Year
To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America
My Beloved Christians,
As Greek Orthodox Christians, we enter this New Year with the joyous celebration of the Feast of Saint Basil, a much beloved and venerated Ecumenical Teacher and Great Hierarch of our Church whose life in the fourth century continues to serve as a model worthy for emulation by all Christians. Saint Basil is revered with a special prominence worldwide in the Holy Orthodox Church for the saintly life which he lived, for his astonishing work, and for his acts of extraordinary kindness and goodwill to the sick, the downtrodden, and the marginalized.
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by Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Jammo
Genesis of a Liturgical Reform: The Chaldean Patriarchal Synod, held in Baghdad on the days between the 14 th and 18 th of January 1992, and presided by his Beatitude Mar Raphael I Bidawid of blessed memory, in accordance with Canon 124 of the Eastern Code, decreed the formation of a Patriarchal Liturgical Committee, to be headed by Mar Andrews Sana (who chaired the Committee until his retirement in 2003), and composed of three experts, the Reverends: Jacques Isaac (now bishop), Mons. Peter Yousif, and Sarhad Jammo (now bishop). Their mandate was to present to the Holy Synod a historical study and a draft of a reform for the Divine Raze and the other sacraments of the Church
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Extracts of the Message are given below:
"'Our Savior is born to the world!' During the night, in our churches, we again heard this message that, notwithstanding the passage of the centuries, remains ever new. ... But does a 'Savior' still have any value and meaning for the men and women of the third millennium? Is a 'Savior' still needed by a humanity which has reached the moon and Mars and is prepared to conquer the universe; for a humanity which knows no limits in its pursuit of nature's secrets and which has succeeded even in deciphering the marvelous codes of the human genome?
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December 25, 2006
The Nativity of Christ
To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On this very holy day of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I greet you in the love and peace that was revealed to all of humanity through the Incarnation and sacred birth of the Son of God. Today we commemorate a unique event that has both eternal significance for our salvation and relevance to the needs and challenges of our contemporary world.
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THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
Protocol No. 1378
PATRIARCHAL PROCLAMATION UPON THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY
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BY THE MERCY OF GOD ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE,
NEW ROME, AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH,
TO THE PLENITUDE OF THE CHURCH,
GRACE, PEACE, AND MERCY
FROM CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR, BORN IN BETHLEHEM
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"God on earth, man in heaven; and all became mingled together."
St. John Chrysostom